How do people in Austria live?
Everyday life in Austria is not very different from that in Germany. The biggest differences are probably in the language, because in Austria a few different words or expressions are used. But communication usually works well when Germans and Austrians are talking.
Two thirds of Austrians live in a city. 1.8 million people live in Vienna alone. Life there is of course different from life in a village in the Alps. There you can still find many of the typical houses with wooden balconies. Most people in cities live in apartment buildings or apartment blocks. Below you can find pictures of houses in which one lives in Austria.
In Austria they greet with a happy “Grüß Gott”. For shopping you go to the supermarket, rolls are available from the bakery and minced meat (minced meat) from the butcher. And if you have Huger in between, you like to go to the sausage stand. There is a large selection, for example Frankfurter, Käsekrainer, Debreziner, Bosna, Burenwurst or Waldviertler. The range of coffee is just as varied, with single-horse, extended or mélange confusing some visitors.
It is said that people are more relaxed and comfortable. The Austrian likes to say “It’ll work out!”, So: It’ll be fine! Much importance is attached to titles, so that the senior student councilor would like to be addressed in this way. And the waiter is the “waiter” if you please.
On road
Those who do not drive their own car can take the bus or train. The state railway company is called the Austrian Federal Railway or OeBB for short. There is only a subway in Vienna. But you also like to ride a bike.
leisure
Austrians are interested in culture and like to go to museums, the cinema or an exhibition. At home, like us, people like to watch TV. In addition to the channels that exist in Germany, people here of course also enjoy watching the local channels ORF and ATV.
Typical Austria
Winter sports
Thanks to its mountains, Austria is an ideal country for winter sports. Skiing in particular is very popular and almost all Austrian children learn it from an early age. But ski jumping and snowboarding are also popular. The television broadcasts of the competitions in these sports are always watched by many people. Many are also active in sports clubs themselves.
Coffeehouse culture
Austrians love coffee! It is available in countless variations, from alpine coffee to tsar coffee. The small and the big brown or black are the best known coffee specialties alongside the melange, the capuchin and the Einspänner. People like to drink their coffee in one of the famous Viennese coffee houses – even if the heyday of coffee house culture was around 1900. The Viennese coffee house culture was included in the UNESCO cultural heritage in 2011, which once again emphasized its importance.
Dirndl and lederhosen
Girls and women in dirndls, boys and men in lederhosen – these are the typical costumes in Bavaria and Austria. These items of clothing are sometimes worn in everyday life, but mostly for parties and celebrations. Typical for the dirndl are a laced or buttoned waist and an apron.
The traditional lederhosen are short or down to the knee. It is embroidered and has a bib and braces that have a crossbar at the front. The jacket is a traditional jacket.
Aperschnalzen and pillory shooting
There are of course also typical Austrian customs. This is how the Aperschnalzen is practiced in the Salzburg area. Competitions take place in the Aperschnalzen between Christmas and Carnival. It is the cracking and clicking of a whip. This whip is called Goaßl. Symbolically, the crack of the whip is supposed to drive away the winter. In the competition you compete in groups of seven or nine people. A certain sequence is rehearsed.
When pillory shooting, firecrackers are fired on festive days. This can be at weddings, at the parish fair or on Christmas Eve.
Glöcklerlauf
The Glöckler run is also one of the customs in Austria. The Glöcklerlauf takes place on January 5th in the Salzkammergut area. Good spirits of light are supposed to drive away bad spirits. The bell ringer wear white clothing and large bell ringer caps.
This cap consists of a wooden frame that is covered with paper. Motifs are cut from black construction paper and also glued on. The whole thing is then lit up like a lantern with candles or, nowadays, light bulbs. The Glöckler also wear a cowbell around their hips, which sounds with every step. You run in groups, the ends. The passes run in circles, loops or figure eight.
Typical from Vienna
In addition to the Sachertorte, the Wiener Schnitzel is the most famous dish from Viennese cuisine. The breaded veal schnitzel is traditionally eaten with a salad, such as a potato salad (potato salad), or with parsley potatoes. Incidentally, a “Schnitzel Wiener Art” is made from pork, only the “Wiener Schnitzel” is made from veal.
The Viennese waltz is not actually from Vienna. However, it was loved to dance there and became very popular at the Congress of Vienna. Of course, he shouldn’t be missing at the annual Vienna Opera Ball either. Incidentally, it can still happen there today that a woman is greeted with a kiss on the hand, to which the man then says “kiss the hand, gnä ‘Frau”
What you also quickly associate with Vienna is Viennese. This dialect is spoken in Vienna and the surrounding area. The Viennese Schmäh is closely connected with the Viennese. This is the name given to the Viennese type of humor, which is often ironic. But associated with this is also a charm that is said to be associated with Viennese men.
Incidentally, the local recreation area of the Viennese is the Wienerwald, which in Germany is more likely to be associated with a chain of restaurants.
